


say you won't let go

by Thisismylifenow



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Based on a song, M/M, This is a real haunted house in Sevierville TN, because i can't stand a sad story without a happy ending, but it's good I promise, like an hour of research done on my part for the haunted area and it's not even that important, this story went in so many directions I got confused and I'm the author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 20:29:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20513039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisismylifenow/pseuds/Thisismylifenow
Summary: Shane and Ryan go to a haunted house and this raises some feelings in Shane and Ryan. Shane gets in a car accident after said feelings are realized.--------------------------But I wanna stay with you until we're grey and oldJust say you won't let go





	say you won't let go

**Author's Note:**

> Essentially, there's no Shane/Sara or Ryan/Helen because I can't write breakups or anything of that sort so they're all just friends in here, but Sara and Helen aren't mentioned. This is based on the song 'Say You Won't Let Go' by James Arthur. I kind of just heard the song and my brain wouldn't let me let it go until I had written a majority of the story.

Shane stared at Ryan as he tossed back drink after drink. 

He knew that he’d be blackout drunk after this, but he let him have it if only to calm himself down.

They had just got done at the Wheatlands Plantation House in Sevierville, Tennessee and to say that Ryan got scared like he always did would be an understatement. Shane didn’t believe in ghosts, but he knew how much Ryan was terrified of the thought of it, so he just let him get drunk and deal with the repercussions later.

Shane sighed and brought up his only drink of the night (see: water) and took a sip. Ryan kept talking and babbling about how could Shane have not seen anything? Shane smiled a little and just nodded along to his drunken friend’s rambling. He remembered back to what happened yesterday.

* * *

Yesterday:

Shane and Ryan arrived at the Plantation house at exactly 5:30. They had to be there at 6 because that’s when the tour guide that was required to be with them would be there, but they decided to come early to get some good outdoor footage and let Ryan explain to Shane and the rest of the crew about what happened here. They found a few good spots to get some good shots of the scenery.

When the tour guide got there, he let them in house and they sat on the fold-up chairs that they had brought with them. TJ fiddled with the camera while Shane and Ryan made small talk. Ryan looked around the room that they were in, in amazement. He may hate ghosts and ghost houses, but even he had to admit, this house was built beautifully. 

“So, Ryan, tell us what horrible thing happened here to make us come here to this beautiful mansion of a house,” Shane said. 

Ryan looked back at him and noticed TJ had the camera trained on him.

He looked at his paper that was sitting on the ground in front of him while staying out of the camera’s view and started on the history of the house.

“Uh well, the second owner of the farm, Timothy Chandler, passed away in 1819 and his son, John Chandler, inherited the house. We’ll get into that in a little bit. John Chandler built the Wheatlands Plantation house in 1823 after the original farmhouse burned down with five children inside. Three Chandler girls were upstairs using a lantern, teaching a slave girl to read. 

“I couldn’t find out exactly how the lantern caused the fire, but what I do know is that all the girls perished along with an unidentified Chandler boy was also killed. While most of the deaths on this property occurred during the Battle of Boyd’s Creek, The Revolutionary and Civil Wars, there were more than 70 deaths inside the house itself.

“Timothy Chandler, her son, had been known to drink, so Mrs. Chandler left the house to her grandson, John. This caused a disagreement between Timothy and John, which ended with Timothy being killed by John with an iron fire poker. This would not be the only death on the grounds as the house was built over a mass grave filled with the bodies of  28 Cherokee Indians, at least 68 African slaves, and two Revolutionary War soldiers. All of these deaths happened before the house was built, but over time between then and 1966, there were over 64 more deaths within the house, the last being a direct descendent of the Chandlers’, a Mrs. Blanche McMahon.”

“So, there should be no shortage of ghosts?” Shane asked, putting air quotes around the word ghosts. 

Ryan grinned and wheezed, “N-No, no, there should be no shortage of spirits at this house. People are known to report hearing chanting and singing, along with seeing blood still smeared on the walls and floors from the gruesome deaths that occurred here. There are also reports of people seeing two soldiers walk across the porch and they report hearing children’s laughter all around the house. The owners of this house have graciously allowed us to spend the night here.”

As Ryan finished his story, they heard something make a loud thud which made them both jump. Ryan shined his flashlight behind them, only finding the darkening room where the sun was setting. Ryan’s breath quickened and he looked back at Shane with wide eyes. Shane looked at him and then looked back at the camera, never losing character.

“Well. I guess the ghosts don’t like us talking about them.” He joked. The crew laughed nervously, with TJ looking at Ryan in concern. Shane spared a quick look to see Ryan still looking back where the sound came from. Shane could see Ryan’s bottom lip trapped between his teeth, gnawing at it in worry. “Hey, Ryan? You okay?” Ryan jumped again and looked back at Shane. 

“Y-Yeah,” He swallowed and said, “Yeah, man. I’m fine. Let’s just get this over with.” But Shane could see in his eyes, he was truly scared. TJ held the camera on their faces for a minute more before saying, “Cut.” He turned off the camera and walked over to the tour guide to talk to him.

Shane looked at Ryan worriedly. He was sending glances back to where they heard the sound. Shane gently touched Ryan’s shoulder, not wanting to scare the man more than he already was. Ryan’s eyes flashed back at him.

“Hey, you sure you’re alright? We can leave if you want to.” That immediately got an answer out of Ryan.

He shook his head violently and said, “No. I’m not gonna be a wimp. Let’s just get through tonight.”

Shane nodded and gathered up their chairs. Usually, they filmed the explanation of the house and then cut it into different pieces for the video as if coming back and forth through the video. 

Throughout the night, they tested everything they could to try and get evidence of ghosts but didn’t get much. When they walked into one of the bedrooms in which people reported children’s laughter being heard, Ryan brought out the spirit box. He turned it on, both of them wincing as the loud noise of the switching channels screeched in their ears. Ryan turned the volume down and set it on the bed, with him and Shane on both sides of the bed. For a few seconds, there wasn’t anything specific, so Ryan asked the usual questions. 

Nothing ever came from asking the questions, but when Ryan went to turn off the spirit box, a giggle broke through the static. The giggle lasted about three seconds, way longer than something on a radio station would last. Ryan looked up at Shane in horror and Shane dismissed it as just something outside. Ryan wasn’t having it, but he knew it was useless to argue with Shane, the man who didn’t believe in ghosts. While Ryan was terrified for a while, he gradually let go of that fear as Shane tried to calm him down by telling jokes. He smiled and laughed loudly.

The last thing they had to do before sleeping in the house was to do individual room visits. They both decided the most active room to do it in was the main sitting room. That was where people had reported the blood on the floorboards and the first owner, as well as the ghost of Timothy Chandler, had been spotted. Shane decided to go first, seeing as the last house they went to, Ryan went first in the room visits. He went in for about five minutes when Ryan heard a sound come from the room down the hall. Ryan shined his flashlight down there but didn’t see anything. His heart started to race and despite TJ being there behind the camera, Ryan couldn’t talk to him, at least not directly. He could talk to the “audience” as if they were there. The timer beeping from his phone made him jump in shock and knock on the door, letting Shane know his time was up.

Shane walked out of the room with a yawn and a sleepy smile on his face. ”It’s pretty spooky in there, Ryan. Better be careful.” Shane said jokingly.

“Shut up, Shane,” said Ryan with a smile on his face with no heat in his voice. 

Ryan went into the room and sat down in the chair. At first, he had his flashlight on, but about two minutes and thirty seconds into it, the light went out, dumping the entire room in darkness. Ryan’s breathing got heavy and he gulped, painfully aware that anything could be in the room with him and he wouldn’t have a clue.

“If there is anything in here, I just want to let you know. I’m definitely more scared of you than you are of me. Also, if you do anything, you’ll be on video. Just because I-I have no light doesn’t mean I won’t be able to see you. So-So, it’s best to just not do anything.” Ryan shut up after that. “One minute, Ry.” Shane’s voice carried through the door. 

“Oh. Okay. One minute. I can do this. One minute is nothing-” He was cut off by something whispering in the right ear. Ryan jumped up from his seat with a scream and accidentally fell over the arm of the couch onto the floor. He made a thud as he hit the floor and while he couldn’t see at all, he felt dizzy as he laid on the ground. 

“Ryan? You okay, buddy?” He heard Shane ask. He was about to answer when he felt air being blown onto his face. This time right in front of him and he could almost smell the alcoholic breath in front of his face. He jumped up with a yelp and ran for the door, not caring that he had no clue which way was the right way. Luckily, Shane opened the door just in time for Ryan to run into him. The taller man let out an oof sound and Ryan held onto him like his life depended on it. Shane’s arms came around him instinctively and held him in a hug. Shane saw TJ bring the camera down and ask if Ryan was okay. With the way Ryan was holding onto him and shaking like a leaf, he wasn’t sure. Shane made sure not to hug Ryan too tight and let his chin set on top of Ryan’s head in comfort. 

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. You’re okay. What happened?” Shane asked. 

Ryan just shook his head, not wanting to share anything about what happened in there. He just needed to ground himself before he had a full mental breakdown and the closest thing to him was Shane, so that’s what he used. 

“Do you want to leave?” Shane asked. “People will understand if we leave. We could just go back to the hotel.” Ryan stilled for a minute and didn’t talk for a while. Shane wondered if he had heard him when Ryan took a deep breath and said, “No. Nope. I’m not gonna be chased out of this house just because of hearing creepy things. I’ve stayed in a house worse than this before and slept just fine. I think I’m just tired.” 

Ryan lifted his head. “Let’s just go to bed. Maybe I’ll feel better in the morning.” Shane loosened his grip as Ryan stepped away and he’s not ashamed to admit he missed the warmth that came with the physical touch of another person.

They quickly went outside to get their sleeping bags and bring them in because while the owner agreed to let them sleep in one of the bedrooms, they weren’t too fond of someone sleeping in a historical bed, which was fine with both of the boys. They’d slept in sleeping bags at ghost houses before. 

They set up their sleeping bags in the main bedroom, at the end of the bed and TJ had set the camera up for them earlier that night to watch over the room while they slept. Ryan didn’t care that the camera was rolling or that their fans would see, he laid his sleeping bag and pillow next to Shane’s and quickly did his nightly routine before climbing in the bag and pulling it up to his face. Shane came in shortly after and laid down in his sleeping bag, laying his glasses above his head and setting his phone alarm for 7 AM the next day. When he finally got settled, he looked over at Ryan, who was staring at the ceiling intently. Shane stared at him for a while before asking, “Do you want to talk about it?” Ryan shook his head. 

“Maybe tomorrow, when we’re not in the same house as the ghosts.” Normally, Shane would tease him about the statement, but he didn’t feel as if it would be the right time. Instead, he said, “Okay.” and laid against his pillow. It was silent for about ten minutes before Ryan turned toward Shane and got closer. It wasn’t anything romantic. They didn’t look into each other’s eyes and profess their undying love for each other, it was simply one person looking for comfort in another person’s presence. Shane didn’t put an arm around Ryan but he did lay his arm a little closer than when he had laid down. And if Ryan’s pinky found his, well, nobody would know. 

The two laid there in silence and soon, Shane heard Ryan slip into unconsciousness by listening to his breathing. He looked at him in the darkness of the room. His eyes had adjusted in the time it took for Ryan to fall asleep and he noticed that Ryan looked a lot calmer than he did when he came barreling out of that room. Shane wouldn’t say that it was ghosts that scared Ryan, but something definitely got him terrified. Shane watched as Ryan’s eyebrows wrinkled a little bit and he lifted his other hand to brush a thumb softly against his forehead. Ryan’s face smoothed out and he scooted closer to Shane, involuntarily, but not unpleasant. Shane took a deep breath and closed his eyes, enjoying the closeness of his best friend.

* * *

Shane’s phone alarm woke him up and Shane lifted his arm to turn it off when he realized that sometime during the night after he had fallen asleep, Ryan had gotten as close as he possibly could and laid his head on Shane’s chest. As much as Shane didn’t want to disturb him, they promised they’d be out of the house before 8. He sighed and looked at Ryan a little bit longer before shaking him gently. Ryan tucked his head into Shane before opening his eyes. He seemed to sit there for a second before bolting up in panic. 

Shane sat up and said, “Hey, hey. It’s okay. You’re okay.” Ryan was breathing heavy and leaning his head in his arms. Shane didn’t know what to do, so he just placed a hand on Ryan’s shoulder.

“Ry?” He asked, not really sure what else to say. Ryan took a deep breath and put a smile on his face before turning back toward Shane and getting up. He reached out a hand for Shane to take, which he did. 

They gathered their things and Ryan slipped on his sweatshirt before yawning and turning off the night vision camera. He picked it up and hauled it with them as they made their way down the stairs. When they met up with the tour guide that was supposed to lock up after they left, Ryan turned to the upstairs and thought he saw the ghost of a man who looked strangely like Timothy Chandler. He gave the ghost man the finger and rushed out of there, missing the smile that the man gave him. 

Ryan walked out of the house and met up with Shane, who was standing by the car, waiting on Ryan, his bag sitting beside him on the ground. Ryan went to the other side of the car and got in. As TJ had gone back to LA with the rest of the crew, the two men didn’t have to worry about leaving anyone behind. They packed up their stuff and started on the road to the airport.

* * *

Shane was brought back into the present by the sound of Ryan asking him a question. 

As he didn’t hear the question, Shane tilted his head and said, “Hmm? What’d you say, Ryan?” Ryan looked over at him. 

“After all of that, I still can’t believe that you don’t believe in the-the existence of ghosts, dude. Once you see the footage, you’ll believe me. I promise. The ghost of…Thomas or Timothy something was there.” Ryan said, full-on drunk at this point.

Shane shook his head with a smile. “Sure I will, Ry. You good, buddy? Need me to take you home?” Ryan was quiet for a few minutes, staring at his drink.

“Ryan?”

Ryan looked at Shane as if he was in la-la land. His eyes were glazed over and he just stared at Shane. Shane waved a hand in front of his face, trying to get him to respond.

Ryan shook his head and looked at Shane again. “Ghosts. Ghosts are real.”

Shane nodded and said, “Alright, buddy. I think you’ve had enough to drink. Let’s get you home. Shane stood up from his seat and walked over to the bar and motioned for the server to come over. When he did, Shane paid him the tab and good tip, to which the server gave him a smile.

Shane looked back over at Ryan to find a guy talking to him. Ryan, being completely wasted didn’t have any clue what to do, so he just let the dude talk to him. 

_ Nope,  _ Shane thought.  _ Not tonight. And especially not with Ryan. _

Shane walked back over to the table where Ryan was and put an arm around his waist, keeping him standing while also sending a glare at the man in front of him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Shane asked the man. Thankfully, the man had enough sense to see that he wasn’t welcome. “Woah, sorry dude. Didn’t know he was taken. Have a good night.” 

Shane didn’t correct him as he walked away. When Shane looked back down at Ryan, Ryan was looking at his face as if he had a case and was doing hard research. Shane blushed but was glad the bar had dim enough lighting to where it didn’t show very well. Ryan’s eyes searched his entire face before settling on his eyes. The bar seemed like it got 5x hotter. 

“Ry-Ryan?” Shane asked, stuttering a little bit. He gulped and looked back at the shorter man, who had brought a hand close to Shane’s face. Shane wasn’t sure how this interaction was about to go, so he stayed still. Ryan’s hand paused as if Ryan was contemplating his move before pressing his pointer finger to Shane’s nose gently. Ryan said, “Boop.”, as his finger touched Shane’s nose. This immediately made Shane start to giggle and he said, “We really need to get you home, bud. I’m glad we still have another few days before we go back to work.”

Devon always gave the boys about two days off of work after traveling to get back into their normal routines. She was nice like that.

Shane pulled Ryan gently along with him until they got to the curb outside and walked over to Shane’s car. Shane leaned Ryan against the back car door while he unlocked the car and opened the passenger side door. Shane maneuvered Ryan until he got him to sit in the seat with his seatbelt on with no complaints and went around to the other side of the car. He got in and started the car, noticing that despite the loudness Ryan had exhibited in the bar, he was strangely quiet as Shane pulled out of the parking lot and into late-night traffic. 

Shane put some music on softly because he didn’t know if Ryan was going to sleep on the way to his apartment or no. Ryan didn’t speak the entire way and frankly, Shane was a little worried. 

“Ryan, buddy, you okay?” He asked.

Ryan looked at him for a minute and said, “Mhm.” Not getting much of an answer out of him, Shane just decided to not speak the rest of the time. 

When they pulled into Ryan’s apartment complex, Shane got out and helped Ryan from the car, letting him lean on him for support. Shane grabbed the key to Ryan’s apartment out of Ryan’s pants pocket-which wasn’t as strange as it should have been-and unlocked and opened his door. Shane pocketed the key for the moment and they both walked into the apartment.

Shane walked Ryan back toward his room and sat him in the bed. As Shane went over to his dresser to pick out some pajamas, he heard Ryan get up and walk toward the bathroom.

He set the clothes on the bed and walked into the bathroom to find Ryan bent over the toilet, vomiting up all of the alcohol he had drunk that night. Shane sat next to him and rubbed a hand across his back. 

"That's right, buddy. Get it all out. You'll still be hungover but at least you won't throw this up tomorrow." Shane said.

"Ugh, shut up, Shane," Ryan said without any heat. Shane grinned at the familiar banter and kept rubbing Ryan’s back through this whole thing. Once Shane figured everything was out of Ryan's system, he sat back and let Ryan lean his head in his arms. 

"You ready to come back to the bedroom?" Shane asked.

"Ughhh," Ryan replied. 

Shane sighed and wrapped an arm around Ryan and pulled him in. Ryan curled into Shane's chest and neither of them really cared that normal friends didn't do things like this. 

Shane didn't even think about it when he kissed Ryan's forehead gently and Ryan didn't say anything about it. That was the first time it had hit Shane that he maybe possibly had more than a teeny tiny crush on his best friend, Ryan Bergara.

He didn't want to think about that anymore, so he pulled Ryan with him while he stood up. 

"Come on, little guy, let's get you to bed," Shane led them both over to the bed and helped him out of his clothes down to his boxers and helped him into some sweatpants and a t-shirt. Ryan laid down and pulled the blankets over himself. 

Shane started to walk away when he felt a pull on his arm. He looked down to see Ryan holding his wrist. 

"Don't leave. Please. Stay." 

Shane's heart melted and he said, "You need to get some sleep, Ryan." He gently tried to pull out of Ryan's grip but it wouldn't budge. Shane sighed and said, "Alright. Give me a minute to go get a cup of water for you." Finally, Ryan's grip loosened. Shane went to Ryan's kitchen and filled a glass of water and grabbed two aspirin from the cupboard. He walked back to the bedroom to find Ryan staring at the doorway, probably making sure Shane was coming back. 

Shane smiled at him and set the water and aspirins down on the bedside table before going to the other side of the bed and climbing in. Immediately, Ryan clung to Shane and buried his face in Shane's chest. Shane's arms came around him and soon, Ryan's snores were filling the room. Shane smiled at the shorter man and let himself pull him closer to give him another kiss on the forehead. He laid against the pillow and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Shane woke up to an empty bed and wondered if last night was all a dream until he heard sizzling in the kitchen and saw that the water glass was still there, but the water and aspirins were gone.

He smiled to himself and got up, hearing rain and thunder outside. Funny, he didn't think it was supposed to rain anytime soon. He walked into the bathroom to find a spare toothbrush sitting on the counter unopened. He brushed his teeth and used the bathroom and walked out to the kitchen where Ryan was finishing cooking eggs and bacon.

"Smells good," Shane said, scaring Ryan.

Ryan yelped and pointed a plastic spatula at Shane as if that would stop an intruder. Shane raised an eyebrow as he sat down.

"Feeling better than yesterday, buddy?" He asked, hoping the man didn't have too bad of a headache.

“After the mini heart attack you just gave me,” Ryan glared playfully at him and said, "Yeah. I feel better. Thanks for you know, for taking care of me and for the Aspirin." 

"No problem. What are friends for?" Even as he said the word, Shane felt a pang of hurt enter his chest. 

Ryan rolled his eyes and fixed them both a plate. They ate and cleaned their plates in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was domestic, of sorts. Shane could see how people liked domesticity. He would like it if their lives didn't revolve around getting spooky things on video. Shane was brought out of his thoughts as Ryan's phone rang from its perch on the counter. Ryan grabbed it and answered, walking into the bedroom when Shane couldn't hear. Shane didn't mind. As far as he was concerned, Ryan was a big boy, he could answer his own phone.

Shane finished washing his plate and just stood in the kitchen, just taking in the scenery. Ryan came back in the kitchen, off his phone and said, "It was my mom. She wants me to meet her for lunch at 12." Shane looked at the clock. It said 10:30. “Really? In the rain?” Shane asked. Ryan shrugged and headed back over to the bar to plug his phone back up.

"I should be goin. I gotta go pick up some groceries or else I won't have anything to eat for next week." He joked. Ryan nodded and said, "Well, thanks again for taking care of me. I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with when I'm drunk." Shane waved a hand and started to put his shoes on. He grabbed his phone, wallet and was looking for his keys when Ryan had them hanging from his finger. Shane sent him a smile and plucked them from his finger before giving him a kiss on the cheek and walking out the door. 

It didn't dawn on him until he was out of the parking lot as to what he just did. He blamed it on getting lost in his own head and forgetting where he was and he was decidedly not blushing.

Suddenly, there was a honk and he had just enough time to see a pair of headlights on his left before there was the sound of crunching metal and glass breaking and pain in his legs and head. Then, nothing.

* * *

Shane opened his eyes to see that he was in what looked to be a fog. Just fog, no matter which way he turned. 

"Hello? Ryan! Anybody!" He yelled, hoping someone would hear him. The fog didn't answer. He turned around and around in circles but couldn't find anything. 

Shane gulped and while he didn't believe in the supernatural, he had a gut feeling this wasn't something that science could explain. 

Shane's eye caught a glimpse of light to his right and a scene to his left and another different scene right in front of him. He looked at the light but couldn’t see anything past it, so he looked at the scene in front of him. 

It was him, or his body, being brought out of his wrecked car by firefighters and paramedics. The car looked totaled and there was a truck a little ways off with a crushed hood. The rescuers were working on him and putting him in an ambulance. He heard beeping come from it and the scene went black. 

Shane looked at the third sort-of vision. He was in bed with Ryan. As he got closer, that picture turned into a few hundred. The pictures played in front of him like he was on a movie ride at Disneyland(1). The first was of Ryan and him. They were laying in an unfamiliar bed and had golden rings on their fingers and their hands intertwined as they slept. Now, Shane wasn't stupid. He knew what that meant. He saw them get married and go on their honeymoon, shoving cake in each other's faces and lounging on a tropical beach. Ryan was sitting in a chair beside him and holding his hand.

The second picture was of him and Ryan in a big room looking at a bunch of kids running around and playing. They noticed a pair of kids sitting in the corner, playing by themselves.  _ Twins _ , his mind supplied. They walked over to the twins and asked them if they wanted to be part of their family. Shane saw bits of the adoption process and all four of them painting the kids' rooms. His mind supplied the kid's names.  _ Julie and Logan _ . 

The next picture was of the kids as they were older. They both helped Shane make breakfast for Ryan, who was still asleep in their bedroom. He took the tray with breakfast and coffee on it into the bedroom and placed it gently on the bedside table and woke Ryan up. Ryan opened his eyes to see Shane and the kids with cards next to the tray. 

"Happy birthday, Ryan." "Happy birthday, dad." The kids and Shane said. Tears filled Ryan's eyes and he held his family close to him. Shane placed an arm around them all and kissed Ryan's forehead. 

The next picture was of Shane dropping the kids off at school. It was their first day of middle school and Ryan had to go into work early, so he couldn't be there. The twins understood and said he could take them the next day. Shane waved to them as they walked into school and turned to get in the car. He heard Julie yell for him and turned around just in time to catch both of them in his arms. He hugged them to him and watched as they walked in the school for real this time.

The final picture was of Shane and Ryan dancing in their bedroom. They were older now, about 68 years old. The walls were covered in pictures of their family over the years. They had pictures of Julie's children and pictures that Logan had taken as he had traveled the world. A text was sent to Ryan's phone that had them stop and look at it. 

It was a picture of Logan with a baby in his arms and another man beside him. They were both smiling down at the baby. 

The text read:  _ We now welcome baby Isabelle Madej into the world. We're ready to be a happy family. Thanks dads! _

The real Shane was brought out of the pictures to find tears falling down his cheeks and as the pictures left him, he found himself reaching toward where they were. He turned back to the scene in front of him and saw he was now in a hospital bed, with Ryan right beside him, clutching his hand in a death grip. He barely heard the words uttered to him.

"Come back, Shane. Please. I didn't get to tell you….just please come back to me. Don't let go. Don't leave me. I can't do this by myself." He started to go towards that one when the light on his right started to pulse and he could hear a faint voice. 

“Oh, Shane, what have you gotten yourself into now?” The voice was one he hadn’t heard in a long while. The light materialized to show a man walking toward him. The man looked like an older version of his dad but different in a way that told him who he was, had Shane not remembered his own grandfather. 

“Gramps?” Shane asked. 

Gramps smiled softly and said, “Hi Shane.” Shane’s tears fell harder and he hurried to wipe them away. He thought he would never see his grandfather again. After all, Shane had only been three years old when he passed. 

Gramps looked at him fondly. “You’ve grown up so well. What happened? Where’s the boy that loved to sit on my lap as I told old war stories? You too good for those, Madej?” Shane smiled a watery smile and shook his head.

“Why can I see you, Gramps? You know I don’t believe in this stuff.” Gramps raised an eyebrow. 

“You think this is a figment of your imagination, boy? Don’t play dumb. You know what’s happening.” Shane stood still.

“You mean I’m dead? Did that truck kill me?” Something in his tone must have made Gramps laugh. He slapped his knee in laughter, much more springy than Shane remembered.

“Hell no, son. You ain’t dead. If you were, you wouldn’t be seeing that touching scene right there. Still, the truck did hit you pretty hard. You’re in a coma. What do you think’s happening?” Shane blinked and looked at the two scenes in front of him. Ryan was still beside him in both. 

“Is this a test? I think I’m gonna fail.” Shane asked, hoping a joke would help him deal with all of this, but Gramps didn’t laugh. 

“It’s time for you to choose. You want to die and come with me or do you want to go back to that boy crying over your body right now? That other sight, to your left is what could happen but won’t be guaranteed. The present scene, something might happen but if you come with me, nothin’ll happen. You’ll be dead and that poor boy won’t be able to tell ya.”

“Sounds like you already know my choice, Gramps.” Gramps smiled softly and pulled Shane into a hug.

“Go on. I’ll be waiting here for you when you do decide to come to me. But that better not be for a long time, you hear?” Shane took a deep breath and hugged Gramps tight. He heard the older man sniff once and push him gently away out of the hug. Gramps smiled at Shane and said, “Now, you tell your dad that Gramps said hi and that he better keep an eye on you.” Shane nodded and turned to the middle scene.

He walked forward until the picture enveloped him and immediately, he blacked out.

* * *

Shane opened his eyes again to find himself in the hospital. He heard the beeping of the machines and felt Ryan holding his hand. His head throbbed and he raised his other hand to his head. That motion made Ryan's head snap up and lean in closer to Shane. 

"Ugh, my head. What happened?" Shane asked.

"Y-You got in a crash, big guy. Got hit on your side of the car. You've been in a coma for two days. Your left leg was broken and you hit your head." Ryan's eyes started to tear up as he explained. The hand that had Shane's trapped tightened and Shane brought his other hand to cover up the two. Ryan looked down and said, "I-I should have been there. I shouldn't have just let you leave."

"Hey," Shane said sternly. He wasn't about to let Ryan blame himself for this. "You had no idea that this would happen. No one did. Don't go blaming yourself." 

He could tell Ryan would try to argue because he's just known him that long. Shane wasn't about to let that happen. He pushed himself upward and said fuck the consequences. He kissed Ryan straight on the mouth. That shut him up. 

Ryan was still for a minute and Shane hoped it was just shock. He started to pull away but Ryan caught his neck with his hand and started to kiss back. 

The kiss itself was gentle and the grip on Shane's right hand loosened until both of Ryan's hands were holding Shane's face in place. Thumbs rubbed his cheeks as Shane's lips parted to allow Ryan's tongue to meet his own. Air was needed as the two separated from their impromptu make-out session. 

Shane took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He opened them back up to find Ryan's eyes filled with sparkling joy, hope and a little tiny bit of fear. How he could tell those were the emotions the man was feeling, he couldn't tell you. He just gave a lopsided grin and held Ryan's hand that was still on his face.

The pair knew they'd have to talk about this, but they would just enjoy, if for only a moment to just be together.


End file.
